India spin into trouble
The best cricket stories of the week, 11th to 17th January 2025
1
India spin into trouble
ESPNcricinfo’s Himanish Ganjoo analyses the numbers to reveal that India’s spin-friendly pitches have actually helped the opposition more since 2021.
“There exists a Goldilocks zone for bounce, in which it is comfortable to play, where the ball loses 30% to 50% of vertical speed when it bounces. Any balls outside this range [are] difficult to face. Tracking data shows us that the proportion of such anomalous-bounce deliveries is noticeably higher in the last five years in India. Coupled with the high turn after 2020, this makes facing spinners even tougher.”
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2
The players must be distracted
Cricket Et Al’s Peter Lalor looks at cricket’s long and stupid history of blaming the fairer sex for the male players’ poor performances.
“Losing to Australia has really done a number on Indian cricket. The captain stood down, the veteran off-spinner went home, the coach is under enormous strain, [and] Virat Kohli is the target of vilification…But never fear, as the real source of the failure has been identified …it was those damn women and kids.”
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3
Aye aye Iyer
ESPNcricinfo’s Nagraj Gollapudi talks to Shreyas Iyer as he gets ready for his third stint as an IPL captain, this time with the ever-changing Punjab Kings.
“I love players to be themselves. I don't want them to behave in any particular way. But when we are on the field, I want each and every individual to have the same mindset and the same motto: winning and contributing towards the team's benefit.”
4
The best of the rest
The Telegraph’s Sonia Twigg catches up with an England legend; “Nat Sciver-Brunt interview: ‘I still get nervous every time I go out to bat”
Cricbuzz’s Telford Vice writes about a Test legend finally getting a chance to dominate T20s; “All aboard Joe Root's experience express”
ESPNcricinfo’s Srinidhi Ramanujam talks to India’s under-used pacer; “Arundhati Reddy wants to be 'the best allrounder in the world”
The Guardian’s Tanya Aldred looks at county cricket’s flooding problem; “‘Deep, minging, unpleasant’: cricket’s flooding problem is getting worse”
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5
The best videos and podcasts
Bowler’s Union’s Chris Wright & Keith Barker breaking down Scott Boland’s bowling, from his action to his tendencies.
Caribbean Cricket Podcast’s Machel St Patrick Hewitt & Santokie Nagulendran talk to West Indies analyst Avenesh Seetaram about his role with at national and CPL teams he works with.
Backward Point’s M. Nazar Syed & A. Bashaar talk to Caribbean expert Machel St Patrick Hewitt about the upcoming Pakistan versus West Indies Test series, and whether the games are becoming irrelevant in light of the proposed two-tier system.